Page 26 - HW September 2019

painting & decorating
LET’S KICK OFF with the tradie’s perspective on painting & decorating. Phil Wilkinson, National Workmanship & Membership Manager of the Master Painters Association, says it’s “steady as she goes” in the trade as winter draws to a close and painters ease off chasing interior work.
Feeling that the painting trade has come off “the silliness of
a couple of years ago”, Phil reports: “We’re still busy but it’s not ridiculous. In fact, it’s a nice place to be; we can still pick and choose what we want to do but we aren’t looking at 200 requests for quotes each week. That was stressful, now it’s manageable.”
With a Master Painters Association conference just around the corner when we spoke, and board members having just submitted reports about what’s happening around the country, Phil was happy to pass on some of this intelligence.
“In the Auckland region, things seem to be going quite well and consents are up. One only has to look at the number of cranes on the horizon to see there’s plenty of building going on at the moment.
“The Canterbury report talked about commercial bubbling along nicely and some significant projects still to come on line with the Convention Centre and others to be completed.”
Having said this, Phil also reports that things are somehow “out of sync” in Christchurch and that some painters, like many of their builder counterparts, are experiencing a lull.
“If there’s an area of some concern, it’s Christchurch; they are putting that down to the earthquake rebuild as 10-15 years of work got done in a five- or six-year period. Certainly in that rework arena, a lot of the work’s already been done that we would expect to be doing now.”
Other Mainland areas are also reporting a softening market. “Anecdotally, I was talking to an Ashburton painter recently who thought that things were slowing down there and he put it down to farmers pulling back a bit since the milk price fell.
“On the other hand, the local association thought they were having a reasonable run with winter just presenting its usual challenges,” says Phil Wilkinson.
Elsewhere around the country, reports suggest house price growth and low interest rates may be supporting demand for the trade, he says.
“Otago and Southland have been quite busy, for example, and the winter weather was very kind to them for a while, so they were able to stay outside for longer. And, whereas Gisborne was a hard place to do business a few years ago, there seems to be plenty of work there at the moment.”
BRIGHT OUTLOOK FOR PREMIUM PAINTS
Also seeing good opportunities throughout the country is Decora Group Director, David Ryan, whose Aalto Paint brand targets the premium end of the decorative paints market. Commenting on Aalto’s entry into some PlaceMakers stores, David says the New Zealand trade and retail market “has always desired high performance products” and it’s a trend he sees continuing.
“We are enjoying partnering with select PlaceMakers stores to make our colours and paint more accessible to a wider market. We’ve also worked hard to provide retailers and customers with a comprehensive range of support collateral including fandecks and
Simply pour and paint
The Wagner Control Pro 150 paint sprayer features an airless piston pump and a convenient hopper design, making it ideal for small to medium projects.
The innovative airless system is highly efficient and allows users to spray quickly and with high levels of control and performance under reduced system pressure.
Another key benefit, says Wagner, is up to 55% less overspray than conventional systems thanks to lower pressure leading to a softer and more controllable spray. This product carries a 3+1 year DIY warranty.
www.wagner.co.nz
New look for
3M Painter’s Tapes
The updated range of Scotch Painter’s Tapes has unified 3M’s masking and painting tape product range with surface-specific positioning of the Scotch brand family of Painter’s Tapes now making tape selection easier for consumers.
ScotchBlue Original is the versatile, multi-surface painter’s tape that DIY painters and pros have used for more than 30 years. ScotchBlue Ultra Sharp Lines, 3M’s premium blue tape, features patented Edge-Lock technology which seals out paint to create ultra-sharp paint lines. This innovative poly-tape conforms to curves, tears straight for fast cornering, and removes without slivering.
Other products in the new-look Painter’s Tape range include Delicate, Exterior and Rough Surface tapes.
www.mmm.com
24 NZHJ | SEPTEMBER 2019
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